By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Pew PatriotsPew PatriotsPew Patriots
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Reading: Hegseth to visit Panama as Trump says US is ‘reclaiming’ its canal
Share
Font ResizerAa
Pew PatriotsPew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Hegseth to visit Panama as Trump says US is ‘reclaiming’ its canal
Tactical

Hegseth to visit Panama as Trump says US is ‘reclaiming’ its canal

Jimmie Dempsey
Last updated: April 4, 2025 6:35 pm
Jimmie Dempsey Published April 4, 2025
Share
SHARE

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Panama next week, the second senior U.S. official to visit the country in as many months, as President Donald Trump says America is “reclaiming” the country’s eponymous canal.

While there, Hegseth will meet with the country’s president, Jose Raul Mulino, and attend a meeting of regional chiefs of defense. He will also visit military sites and the Panama Canal itself.

In a statement Friday, Pentagon Press Secretary Sean Parnell wrote the meetings “will drive ongoing efforts to strengthen our partnerships with Panama and other Central American nations toward our shared vision for a peaceful and secure Western Hemisphere.”

The U.S. has a small military presence in Panama, though the Pentagon has reportedly been planning options to increase that number, in line with the president’s goal to take control of the canal. America is currently participating in a military exercise inside the country.

“To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it,” Trump said in a March address to Congress.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the country in early February, where he also met with Mulino. In a post on the social app X after Trump’s speech, Mulino said ownership of the canal wasn’t being transferred and that he and Rubio didn’t discuss the topic.

“I reject, on behalf of Panama and all Panamanians, this new affront to the truth and to our dignity as a nation,” Mulino wrote.

Congress voted to transfer the canal to Panamanian ownership in 1978, deeming U.S. control unpopular and impractical. The process concluded more than two decades later.

Hegseth spoke with Panama’s president and minister of public security in early February. During the latter call, according to a Pentagon summary, Hegseth “emphasized that his top priority is to safeguard U.S. national security interests under President Trump’s leadership, to include ensuring unfettered access to the Panama Canal and keeping it free from foreign interference.”

The Trump administration has warned broadly that China is growing too involved in the Panama Canal through the country’s Belt and Road Initiative, a foreign aid scheme U.S. officials say is exploitative.

The last U.S. defense secretary to visit Panama was Donald Rumsfeld in 2004. More than a decade earlier, the U.S. led a short war in the country to remove then-President Manuel Noriega, later indicted for drug trafficking and racketeering.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

Read the full article here

You Might Also Like

First Look: NexTorch TA22 Penlight

First Shots: Charter Arms Double Dog Revolvers

Pentagon accepts Qatari jet for Air Force One

First Look: Ace Virtual Shooting SIG Experience

7 Accurate Handguns That Shoot Way Above Their Price Tag! [2025]

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Recommend
Border czar Homan demands Democrats stop comparing ICE to ‘Nazis’ after officer shot by detention facility
News

Border czar Homan demands Democrats stop comparing ICE to ‘Nazis’ after officer shot by detention facility

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey July 7, 2025
These 5 Next-Gen Lever-Action Rifles Just Shocked the Entire Industry!
Diddy received standing ovation from fellow inmates after jury found rapper not guilty on RICO charge: lawyer
First Look: Mesa Tactical Pro Packages
Army tests robotic coyotes to defend fighter jets
Teen goes viral after bringing 200 tortillas on flight from Texas: ‘Just went on through’
Compressed Time
Tactical

Compressed Time

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey July 7, 2025
Japanese Nambu LMGs of World War II
Guns and Gear

Japanese Nambu LMGs of World War II

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey July 7, 2025
Texas flooding victims include Dallas Catholic school sisters, camp counselor, Walmart employee
News

Texas flooding victims include Dallas Catholic school sisters, camp counselor, Walmart employee

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey July 7, 2025
Pew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
  • Guns and Gear
2024 © Pew Patriots. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?